Veja (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈveʒɐ], English: see, look [at it]) is a Brazilian weekly news magazine published in São Paulo and distributed throughout the country by media conglomerate Grupo Abril.[1][2] It is the leading weekly publication in the country and one of the most influential outlets of the Brazilian printed media. Veja publishes articles on politics, economics, culture, world events, entertainment, and war. It also regularly includes editorial pieces related to themes like technology, ecology, and religious debate. It has recurring sections on cinema, television, practical literature, music, and guides on diverse subjects.[3] It has been described as politically aligned with right-wing movements.[4][5][6]

During its early days, Veja was known for publishing hoaxes as facts. In 1975 it declared that the Loch Ness Monster was real before ultimately recognizing the news were fake.[10] In 1983, it re-published an April Fools' Day prank from the British magazine New Science as real. According to Veja, scientists were able to fuse the molecules of a cow and a tomato in order to produce tomato-flavored meat.[11] In 1989, it published a controversial piece about singer Cazuza, which was terminally ill from AIDS. It was considered of bad taste and proclaimed that the singer's legacy would not last.[12] The same year, the magazine published a cover praising then presidential hopeful Fernando Collor de Mello later impeached for corruption.

On 2005, as part of its growing right-wing agenda, Veja defended the rejection of the prohibition of firearms in that year's referendum. According to Folha de S. Paulo columnist Barbara Gancia, Veja tried to mislead its readers presenting the referendum as a proposition of the ruling Workers' Party (PT) and its owners had a conflict of interest in campaigning against banning firearms; Veja's publishing company Editora Abril was a business partner of the Birmann family, owner of the Brazilian Cartridge Company. During the same year it was responsible for several news stories about the Mensalão scandal.

Veja had a circulation of 1,086,200 copies in 2010.[13] In April 2012, the editor of the magazine Policarpo Júnior was accused by its rival CartaCapital, based on information revealed by the Federal Police, of being a close acquaintance of casino owner Carlinhos Cachoeira (gambling is illegal in Brazil). Cachoeira was then arrested for money laundering. According to CartaCapital, Cachoeira was responsible for arranging and filming the bribery meeting in the Correios which resulted in the Mensalão scandal. Júnior and Cachoeira had exchanged over 200 phone calls during the period investigated. The circulation of the magazine was 1,071,500 copies in 2012.[13]

In its 25 May 2007 issue, Veja ran a story on then-Senate president, Renan Calheiros, accusing him of accepting funds from a lobbyist to pay for the child support of a daughter from an extramarital affair with journalist Monica Veloso.[14] During a speech in his defense given in the Senate floor, Calheiros accused Grupo Abril, Veja's parent company, of having violated Brazilian corporate law in relation to its sale of 30% of the capital from its publishing arm to South African media group Naspers.[15] Abril responded to Calheiros in a press release in which they denied all charges.[16]

In July 2015 the magazine published a story claiming that federal contractor Léo Pinheiro would offer a plea bargaining claiming that Lula was aware and benefited from the aforementioned corruption case. However, Pinheiro published an article claiming that the statements attributed to him were fake.[21] As such, Lula decided to sue Veja for moral damages.[22][23] On the same issue, the magazine accused former soccer player and Senator Romário of having a bank account in the tax haven country of Switzerland. After being sought by the Senator, Banca della Svizzera Italiana confirmed that the documents published by Veja were fake. BSI announced that it requested an investigation of the case by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.[24] According to columnist Ricardo Noblat, Veja's actions might have been orchestrated by the Mayor of Rio de JaneiroEduardo Paes, once Romário is a strong contester in the upcoming municipal election.[25]